{"id":46770,"date":"2023-10-26T14:19:49","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T14:19:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=46770"},"modified":"2023-10-26T14:19:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T14:19:49","slug":"wrhs-volleyball-program-hosts-dig-pink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2023\/10\/26\/wrhs-volleyball-program-hosts-dig-pink\/","title":{"rendered":"WRHS volleyball program hosts Dig Pink"},"content":{"rendered":"
By John Orrell<\/em>
\nLandmark Correspondent<\/em><\/div>\n

HOLDEN \u2014 The gymnasium at Wachusett Regional High was awash in pink Oct. 6 in support of the volleyball program\u2019s annual Dig Pink night. Freshmen, junior varsity and varsity teams hosted the event, with matches against Shrewsbury High, before a packed and vocal crowd cheering for both teams.<\/p>\n

For the 12th year, the Mountaineer girls sponsored the event, with all proceeds going to the Side-Out Foundation for breast cancer awareness. The foundation was established in 2004 to unite volleyball players and coaches and have them work toward the common goal of furthering breast cancer awareness, education and patient services. The event has generated more than $28,000 through admissions, T-shirt sales, bake sales, gift baskets and 50-50 raffles.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s efforts raised more than $3,400, according to WRHS volleyball head coach Jennifer Burton.<\/p>\n

In volleyball lingo, the term \u201cside out\u201d refers to a situation where one team wins a point while its opponent is serving, thereby regaining serve or control of play. In the more complex and often convoluted game of life, the term takes on a much broader and significant meaning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis team was picked in August, and the first thing they wanted to know is when Dig Pink is going to be,\u201d said Burton postgame. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the highlights that they look forward to. They put a lot into this night, and they know that the big crowd will be here for support. There are so many people who know how important this is, and that makes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mountaineer captains Ella Laramee, Claire Michalowski and Chase Garabedian each discussed the merits of the fan support and closeness of team members who are putting together a solid run at a playoff spot. The team record stood at 8-8 as of this writing, with a handful of games remaining in the regular season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a lot of support tonight,\u201d said Laramee. \u201cEveryone from Wachusett supports one another and have formed bonds that allow us to come together as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis night is for an amazing cause: breast cancer awareness,\u201d echoed Michalowski. \u201cWe raised so much for the Side-Out foundation. We have such a gifted team this year, and it was tough losing to Shrewsbury (3-0), but we\u2019ll learn from this and come together as a team. When we have games like this, we\u2019ll be able to pull out a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying for the Side-Out foundation is for a special cause,\u201d explained Garabedian. \u201cIt\u2019s also a bonding moment. We\u2019ll look back and remember the good times we\u2019ve had on the court and how special this night was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another highlight of the annual Dig Pink event is the impassioned presence of the WRHS student cheering section, known as the Badlands, who bring a fervent excitement to the game with intense fan support. Look for them at most Wachusett sporting events and enjoy their heightened school spirit. Two of the Badland leaders spoke to The Landmark postgame.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is absolutely a special night. We\u2019re helping raise money for a really good cause,\u201d said senior RJ Dickson. \u201cIt\u2019s a great charity, and we love supporting it. It\u2019s also really great to support women\u2019s sports and help cheer Wachusett on.\u201d<\/p>\n

In agreement with Dickson is fellow senior and school supporter Tommy Rovezzi.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a special night because it\u2019s the biggest turnout for a volleyball game. Everyone\u2019s here having a good time, and the girls don\u2019t usually get this big a crowd, but we\u2019re here to support them and hopefully make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of the 2023 Wachusett Regional High girls varsity volleyball team are Sapphira Jahner, Riley Bisnette, Ella Laramee, Lily Davidson, Brooke Laidlaw, Delaney McGee, Rebecca Wright, Emily Rakic, Chase Garabedian, Hannah Best, Alise Galena and Claire Michalowski. Team captains are Ella Laramee, Chase Garabedian and Claire Michalowski. Head coach is Jennifer Burton, assisted by Mike Taylor, Lindsey Thunberg, Olivia Smith and Julie Graham. Team manager is Jack Greene.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By John Orrell Landmark Correspondent HOLDEN \u2014 The gymnasium at Wachusett Regional High was awash in pink Oct. 6 in support of the volleyball program\u2019s annual Dig Pink night. Freshmen, junior varsity and varsity teams hosted the event, with matches against Shrewsbury High, before a packed and vocal crowd cheering for both teams. For the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}